⁸ “Please ^(H)ask of past generations,
And establish the things searched out by their fathers.
⁹ For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because ^(I)our days on earth are but a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not instruct you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their hearts?

¹¹ “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
¹² While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it dries up before any other ^[d]plant.
¹³ So are the paths of ^(J)all who forget God;
And the ^(K)hope of the godless will perish,
¹⁴ Whose confidence is fragile,
And whose trust a ^(L)spider’s ^[e]web.
¹⁵ He relies on his ^(M)house, but it does not stand;
He holds fast to it, but it is not established.
¹⁶ He ^[f](N)thrives before the sun,
And his ^(O)shoots go forth over his garden.
¹⁷ His roots wrap around a rock pile;
He looks upon a house of stones.
¹⁸ If He swallows him up from ^(P)his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘^(Q)I never saw you.’
¹⁹ Behold, ^(R)this is the joy of ^[g]His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
²⁰ Behold, ^(S)God will not reject a blameless man,
Nor ^(T)will He strengthen the hand of the evildoers.
²¹ He will yet fill ^(U)your mouth with laughter
And your lips with shouting.
²² Those who hate you will be ^(V)clothed with shame,
And the ^(W)tent of the wicked will be no longer.”

⁵ Why should I ^(I)fear in days of evil,
When the iniquity of my ^[d]supplanters surrounds me,
⁶ Even those who ^(J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
⁷ Truly, no man can ^(K)redeem his brother;
He cannot give to God a ^(L)ransom for him—
⁸ For ^(M)the redemption price for their soul is costly,
And it ceases forever—
⁹ That he should ^(N)live on eternally,
That he should not ^(O)see ^[e]corruption.

¹⁰ For he sees that even ^(P)wise men die;
The ^[f](Q)fool and the senseless alike perish
And ^(R)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their ^[g](S)inner thought is that their houses ^(T)are forever
And their dwelling places ^[h]from generation to generation;
They have ^(U)called their lands after their own names.
¹² But ^(V)man in his honor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[i]perish.

¹³ This is the ^(W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(X)are pleased ^[j]with their words. ^[k]Selah.
¹⁴ As sheep they are appointed ^(Y)for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them;
And the ^(Z)upright shall have dominion over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for Sheol ^(AA)to consume,
Far away from his habitation.
¹⁵ But God will ^(AB)redeem my soul from the ^[l]power of Sheol,
For ^(AC)He will receive me. Selah.

¹⁶ Do not be afraid ^(AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the ^[m]glory of his house increases;
¹⁷ For when he dies he will not ^(AE)take any of it;
His ^[n]glory will not descend after him.
¹⁸ For while he lives he ^(AF)blesses his soul—
And men will praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹ But his soul shall ^(AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will eternally not see ^(AH)light.
^20 (AI)Man in his honor, but who does not understand,
Is ^(AJ)like the animals that ^[o]perish.